


I'll Ease Your Aches

by Lurking_Umbra



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Chronic Pain, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28227954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lurking_Umbra/pseuds/Lurking_Umbra
Summary: Sometimes Juno's old injuries flare up and cause him a lot of pain. But that's fine, because it's not like he hasn't dealt with that before.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 16
Kudos: 132





	I'll Ease Your Aches

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mug_of_tea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mug_of_tea/gifts).



> This was a gift fic for Tox as part of a holiday gift exchange. I was working on it up until like an hour before the exchange because that's the kind of person I am. Happy holidays, Tox!
> 
> Title is from Anytime You Need a Friend by the Beu Sisters.

Juno is fine. Sure, maybe his shoulder feels a little bit like someone stabbed it with a serrated knife and twisted and then set the whole area on fire for good measure, but he is fine. It's just pain, and pain from an old injury at that. He can handle that. Even if the pain sends branching sparks of pain through his arm and down his spine with every breath he takes and every movement of his shoulder. 

Pain from old injuries isn't exactly new for Juno. He's had quite a lot of injuries and not all of them healed as quickly as they should have, especially not in the period of his life when he had continued to throw himself forward, uncaring about whether he died or not. Things have changed, he's doing better now, or at least trying to, but that doesn't make all of the hurts magically go away.

Still, he should be used to this by now. The number of times he has woken up to his body aching and screaming at him hasn't exactly gone down as he's gotten older. He should be able to just grin and bear it, no matter how old or recent the injury actually is. 

He moves to sit up and is immeasurably grateful that he hadn't ended up sleeping in the same room as Nureyev the previous night. That means there is no reason for him to stifle the groan he makes as his shoulder twinges painfully with the movement. He sits there for a long moment, taking deep breaths past the pain that is so strong it makes him nauseous. Eventually the pain recedes slightly from sharp arcing pain to a light fire, but this at least he can handle. He stands up unsteadily and waits for the pain to recede once more before moving towards the pile of clean clothes he keeps in the general direction of his closet. 

Changing from his ratty sleep clothes into something more presentable while only using one hand is quite difficult, but Juno manages it. It takes him a few tries to get a shirt off and on through the pain in his shoulder, but eventually he is acceptably dressed and exits his room to head for the kitchen. 

Jet is already awake and manning the stove, preparing a large stack of pancakes, Rita at his side throwing in add ins under his careful direction. Rita usually isn't up quite early enough to help with breakfast, so Juno assumes that the big guy had asked for her help specifically. Rita is pretty good at flavor combinations, when she's not allowed to run rampant in the kitchen, and she's good at guessing what sorts of flavors each member of their crew would like. None of the other members of the crew seem to be up yet, so Juno didn't get up too late, although this morning was technically his day to make breakfast.

"Good morning, Rita, big guy," Juno greets them as he makes a beeline to the coffee pot. 

"Oh hey boss!" Rita shouts enthusiastically as she turns away from her various bowls of pancake ingredients and leaps in Juno's direction for a hug. "You kind of slept in a little, so me n' Jet are making pancakes!"

Juno takes a slight step away from her as she approaches, turning so that his bad shoulder is facing away from her. She frowns at him, but this isn't the first time he's rejected one of Rita's backbreaking hugs, and it probably won't be the last. Usually it's because touch gets a little iffy for him at times, but there's no reason to tell her that this time is any different. 

"Are you feeling well, Juno?" Jet asks, flipping the pancake currently in the pan in order for the other side to cook. "I ask because you are usually quite punctual for your breakfast shifts, despite how much you also complain about them."

Juno feels his cheeks heat with embarrassment and he focuses on pouring coffee into his mug one handed with his non-dominant arm, keeping the painful one tucked in close to his side. If this also prevents him from having to look at Jet, well, nobody needs to know. "Yeah, just tired, I guess," he mutters. 

He picks up his mug and carries it over to sit at the table, watching Rita and Jet as they continue to work on their stack of pancakes. The pain in his shoulder has eased enough that he can almost ignore it, back to its usual level of vague soreness, although he expects that it won't stay that way if he attempts to use it. For a good while of the morning he doesn't have to, watching Rita and Jet in their easy back and forth as he slowly sips at his coffee, feeling relaxed. 

The sounds of Vespa banging on the door of their one fully functioning bathroom, yelling for Ransom to come out, indicate that the other residents of the ship are awake. Vespa shuffles into the kitchen a few minutes later, a scowl on her face. Rita, who is completely unafraid of Vespa, greets her sunnily before offering her a plate of three pancakes and the small container of the syrup that only Vespa likes. Vespa takes the plate with a growled word of thanks and sits at the table in the furthest seat from Juno.

"I don't understand why the thief can't keep his vanity routine in his own room, rather than hogging the good bathroom," Vespa grumbles as she drenches her pancakes in syrup. She produces a knife from somewhere on her person and uses it to aggressively cut her pancakes into pieces as she glares at Juno.

Juno goes to hold his hands up in protest of his innocence, gritting his teeth as a sharp twinge in his shoulder reminds him of why that was a stupid idea. He drops his hands almost immediately and goes for a one-armed shrug instead. "Don't look at me, I still don't know every step of Ransom's morning routine," he says.

Vespa continues to glare despite his words. "Couldn't you talk to your boyfriend about it?"

Juno smirks. "I could, but I won't."

Vespa's knife falls to her plate with a clatter as she drops it, gearing up to launch herself across the table at Juno. Juno has the briefest of moments to feel absolute terror at the knowledge that Vespa when applied to his shoulder will hurt before a stern hand comes down on Vespa's shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. Juno hadn't seen Buddy arrive, but he is instantly grateful for her presence. 

"Isn't it a bit early to be quite so antagonistic?" Buddy asks as she slips into the seat next to Vespa. Jet places a glass of light amber liquor in front of her before taking the seat on her side opposite Vespa, a plate with his own stack of pancakes in front of him. Rita brings over the other syrup and both her and Juno's plates as she takes a seat next to him on the same side as his hurt shoulder.

"Steel started it," Vespa snaps with a glare in his direction. Juno doesn't even bother to resist the urge to stick his tongue out at her. 

"You're the one who was complaining about things I have no control over," Juno replies with a roll of his eye before carefully contemplating the pancakes before him. In an ideal world, he would use both hands to cut them with a knife and fork, but he can still feel warning twinges traveling up and down his shoulder at even the thought of moving his shoulder again. He could cut the pancakes with just his fork, but it would take longer, especially considering that his shoulder that isn't sore is his non-dominant arm. He just barely resists the urge to sigh, starting in on cutting his pancakes with his fork. 

If he wanted to, he could probably bring the pain in his shoulder up to Vespa, and she would go to the medbay to get something for it, but today is the first day where all of them are off in a while, and besides he's already antagonized Vespa this morning. She'd still help him, of course, she's very serious about her role as a doctor, but she'd be even more grouchy towards him than usual. Juno considers the fact that she would likely yell at him if she found out that he was hiding an injury from her anyway, but telling her would certainly make her mood worse. 

All thoughts of telling Vespa fly out of Juno's head when Nureyev takes the last remaining seat beside him, putting his own plate of pancakes down as he leans over to press a kiss to Juno's cheek. Juno swallows his current bite of pancakes as quickly as he can before leaning over to press a kiss to Nureyev's cheek as well, to the background sounds of Vespa fake gagging and Rita squealing in excitement. Juno quickly focuses back on his plate, his eye darting over at Nureyev, pleased to see the look of awe and delight on his face.

"Would the two of you get a room?" Vespa asks with a roll of her eyes.

Juno grins cheekily at her and looks over at Nureyev. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea. What do you think of breakfast in bed, Ransom?"

"Why that sounds like a lovely idea, darling," Nureyev replies with a warm grin before gathering up his plate and a bottle of syrup. 

Juno moves to do the same thing before realizing that he cannot pick up both his half filled mug of coffee and his plate. Not if he doesn't want to roll on the floor in pain as Nureyev worries over him and Vespa yells at him for keeping medical issues from his doctor. Instead he resigns himself to get a fresh cup of coffee at a later time as he picks up his plate and follows Nureyev to his room. It's a bit of a struggle to cross the floor without stepping on something or dropping his pancakes, but Juno manages. The two of them settle together on the bed, leaning up against the headboard with their sides pressed into one another and plates balanced in their laps.

"Did you not want your coffee dear?" Nureyev asks as he realizes that Juno didn't bring it with him.

Juno opens his mouth with the intention of lying and saying something about not needing it or getting some later when he remembers that they are trying to be honest with one another. "I do want it, but uh… my shoulder has been acting up this morning."

"Acting up?" Nureyev echoes with a slight frown. 

"It's an old injury," Juno says with a half shrug. "Or okay, not that old, but not that recent either. It's just been aching any time I try to move it."

"Have you talked to our doctor about this? Taken any pain relievers?"

Juno looks down at the plate in his lap, suddenly unable to meet Nureyev's eyes. He would be hunching his shoulders if that wouldn't hurt so much, trying to curl into himself. "No," he drawls quietly. 

"Juno," Nureyev says plaintively, and when Juno glances up at him, his eyes are wide and worried. "Have you done anything to reduce your pain?"

"I haven't been moving it much," Juno mumbles.

Nureyev sets his plate onto the very crowded side table by the bed before standing up and sorting through one of the many piles on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Juno asks cautiously.

"I have… a heating pad… somewhere in here," Nureyev explains as he searches, making a sound of triumph when he finally finds it half buried underneath another pile of things. He grabs it and moves to stand at the side of the bed neatest to Juno's bad shoulder. Nureyev activates the pad on the lowest setting and carefully arranges it to drape over Juno's shoulder. 

The gentle heat works much faster and more effectively than Juno would have expected, and he can feel a little of the tension leave his body. It still hurts, but it's a little less sharp and urgent. He isn't sure when his eye closed, but he opens it when he hears Nureyev begin to move away. 

"And where are you going?" Juno asks with a pout.

"To get some pain relievers from our wonderful doctor."

"Nuh-uh," Juno protests, reaching out his good arm in Nureyev's direction. "Pain meds can wait until after breakfast in bed."

Nureyev rolls his eyes with a sigh, but Juno can see the fondness in the smile he tries to fight off. He climbs back onto the bed, careful not to jostle Juno too much as he resumes his previous position on Juno's good side. Juno immediately leans his head onto his shoulder with a sigh of content.

"This is nice," Juno murmurs. 

"That it is," Nureyev replies with a chuckle. "Since your arm is rather out of commission, would you like for me to cut your pancakes?"

"Oh god yes," Juno says with a heavy sigh of relief. "I might never actually finish if I have to do it with only my non-dominant hand."

Nureyev chuckles and leans over with his own knife to cut the pancakes on Juno's plate easily. The two of them share a peaceful quiet as pancakes are eaten. When they are all done, Nureyev rises from the bed once more, grabbing both empty plates and the bottle of syrup he brought with them. 

"I shall bring these to the kitchen and I'll return with your coffee and some pain relievers."

"That sounds good. ...thank you, Nureyev."

"Of course dear, anything for my goddess." Nureyev leans down to press a gentle and chaste kiss to Juno's lips. Juno leans forward to chase it, only to pull back and wince at a jolt of pain from his shoulder.

"I'll be right back," Nureyev says as he frowns concernedly at Juno. "Let's see if we can't ease your pain a little bit more."

Juno leans back against the headboard once more as Nureyev leaves the room. He turns the heating pad up to the next setting and sighs as the heat begins to work as he adjusts the pad to remain more firmly on his shoulder. He wonders if maybe he should have just gone to Vespa or even Nureyev about this in the first place, but he figures that it doesn't really matter now. He hopes that Vespa isn't actually in a bad mood when Nureyev asks for her assistance, otherwise Nureyev could be gone for a while. Still, it's nice to be looked after, and Juno could probably do with asking for help more often. Maybe the next time he finds himself sore or aching from a former injury, he will ask for help from the get go, rather than struggling and trying to hide it.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic, please leave kudos and comments. I thrive on them.


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